Coffee machine

[Weight Weenie]

Take the basket out of the portafilter and clean the pf and the basket - especially where they seal against each other (under the rim of the basket - and check the rim of the pf & basket for damage, and that your basket does not have a bunch of blocked holes - hold it up to the light and you can easily see if you have issues.

 

Dankie meneer!

[Guest Latent Blue]

Im planning on buying a Nespresso machine... but ive seen there is quite a few alternatives on the market....

 

Any here have any good/experiences with this machines?

 

Whats the price of those pods?

[Weight Weenie]

EDIT - Double Post.

Edited December 15, 2013 by Weight Weenie

[Weight Weenie]

So I channeled my inner Craig Charity as much as I could and went to work on my beloved Oscar yesterday.

 

As you can see from the pics he has been a bit neglected on the cleaning side and needed some TLC to make him look sharp again. The PF and basket were soaked in Pully cleaning solution as well as the shower screen, the bit between the screen and grouphead, burr and screws. Then all was scrubbed, rinsed, and reassembled. Then I did a back-flush and cleaned the rest of the parts like the drip tray and the outside of the machine.

 

I also cleaned the burrs and grounds shoot on the grinder with Pully Grinds crystals and then took the top burr out of my grinder and cleaned that as well as the lower burr inside the Krups as best I could. Outside and all other parts like hopper lid as was also cleaned.

 

She's running very nicely again, but I have a few questions:

• Is there an easy way to get the gasket from the grouphead out? Was a mission, mine seems very brittle?
  
• What is the recommended cleaning intervals on about 5 cups a day?
  
• How do I get the steam wand tip off? Paolo wrench?
  
• Any idea how the lower burr on the Krups GVX2 comes out? Can it?
  

Some tips and remarks:

• Clean regularly! The coffee oils cake on and become a mission to get rid off. I would adjust the time I leave the stuff in the cleaning solution depending on that. I could have used more than the 15 minutes recommended on the package.
  
• Brass is soft so be careful with hard/sharp tools. Goldilocks and a tooth- and group-brush worked well for me.
  
• There's a second bit above the shower screen on the Oscar that also need to come off. Makes access to the seal easier. Best I found was to take a thin bread knife and wedge it in the inside of the seal/gasket and work it around and leverage it to pop the seal out. Then continue hooking it out from the outside. Going outside first doesn't give good access and I damaged my gasket slightly, be careful.
  
• The Pully cleaner started to eat my anodising on my tamper so be very careful what it comes into contact with. I now have a 2 tone tamper haha.
  
• I use a paint brush to clean the grinder, be careful of bristles falling out.
  
• Burnt my finger slightly. Group is hot so be careful!
  
• A dry rag doesn't heat up like a wet one, so best to use that to handle hot parts.
  
• Take a bit of time to clean the group and pf between shots with a brush and rag, get in there!
  
• Flush the group again with the PF re-inserted after the post shot cleaning flush and scrub. You'll see the dirt that flushes out!
  

[nimthor]

Got myself the Jura Impressa F7 and is absolutely loving it! Only thing is that it makes it hard to have a coffee now at a restaurant. Also makes better coffee than 90% of "coffee shops". Sure it is not semi-automatic, but makes great coffee.

Edited December 15, 2013 by nimthor

[cadenceblur]

So I channeled my inner Craig Charity as much as I could and went to work on my beloved Oscar yesterday.

 

As you can see from the pics he has been a bit neglected on the cleaning side and needed some TLC to make him look sharp again. The PF and basket were soaked in Pully cleaning solution as well as the shower screen, the bit between the screen and grouphead, burr and screws. Then all was scrubbed, rinsed, and reassembled. Then I did a back-flush and cleaned the rest of the parts like the drip tray and the outside of the machine.

 

I also cleaned the burrs and grounds shoot on the grinder with Pully Grinds crystals and then took the top burr out of my grinder and cleaned that as well as the lower burr inside the Krups as best I could. Outside and all other parts like hopper lid as was also cleaned.

 

She's running very nicely again, but I have a few questions:

• Is there an easy way to get the gasket from the grouphead out? Was a mission, mine seems very brittle?
  
• What is the recommended cleaning intervals on about 5 cups a day?
  
• How do I get the steam wand tip off? Paolo wrench?
  
• Any idea how the lower burr on the Krups GVX2 comes out? Can it?
  

Some tips and remarks:

• Clean regularly! The coffee oils cake on and become a mission to get rid off. I would adjust the time I leave the stuff in the cleaning solution depending on that. I could have used more than the 15 minutes recommended on the package.
  
• Brass is soft so be careful with hard/sharp tools. Goldilocks and a tooth- and group-brush worked well for me.
  
• There's a second bit above the shower screen on the Oscar that also need to come off. Makes access to the seal easier. Best I found was to take a thin bread knife and wedge it in the inside of the seal/gasket and work it around and leverage it to pop the seal out. Then continue hooking it out from the outside. Going outside first doesn't give good access and I damaged my gasket slightly, be careful.
  
• The Pully cleaner started to eat my anodising on my tamper so be very careful what it comes into contact with. I now have a 2 tone tamper haha.
  
• I use a paint brush to clean the grinder, be careful of bristles falling out.
  
• Burnt my finger slightly. Group is hot so be careful!
  
• A dry rag doesn't heat up like a wet one, so best to use that to handle hot parts.
  
• Take a bit of time to clean the group and pf between shots with a brush and rag, get in there!
  
• Flush the group again with the PF re-inserted after the post shot cleaning flush and scrub. You'll see the dirt that flushes out!
  

My cleaning procedure... I generally back flush every 2 days or so, only make about three cups a day. I give the screen a good scrub with some Pully on the brush as well. Portafilter and basket is placed in a jug of water with Pully, I then heat the water up with the steam wand, this takes care of the steam wand as well.

[Dirtbreath]

Got myself the Jura Impressa F7 and is absolutely loving it! Only thing is that it makes it hard to have a coffee now at a restaurant. Also makes better coffee than 90% of "coffee shops". Sure it is not semi-automatic, but makes great coffee.

 

Got myself one too. Makes a great cup of coffee. Will give the auto cappucino a go today although we dont drink them.

[jugheaddave]

Father Xmas brought me a early present!!!!

 

http://images.productwiki.com/upload/images/breville_the_barista_express_bes860xl.jpg

[V12man]

WW - try sticking the filter basket and dispersion filter in the dishwash - dont do that with anything anodised, dishwashing soap is pretty agressive on aluminium.

 

Oh - and a tip when cleaning - unplug the machine...

 

I usually backflush every day with water, and with detergent a couple of times a week, and clean the portafilter daily - pink and white scrubby - that black stuff sticks like anything if you leave it, and REALLY tastes bad - even though you think its not going to come off, new coffee oils definately dissolve some and it affects taste rather badly.

 

I toss the portafilter basket in the dishwasher after morning coffee, and its usually washed by evening - in any case I have enough for a few days thanks to trying a few types of baskets.I dont put the portafilter in the dishwasher, just the basket.

 

I find a damp microfibre cloth best for cleaning watermarks off stainless - quick polish and its good to go - very occaisonally some stainless steel cleaner on a cloth.

[V12man]

I use a small shifting spanner to take the steam wand tip off - only when descaling really.

 

To pull the gasket out I use a right angled pick I bought years ago - just slide the tip in on the outside of the gasket, small turn so the tip bites into the gasket and pull it out - if the gasket is brittle, then replace it.

 

If the gasket is REALLY stuck, then a self tapping screw into the gasket and a pair of pliers works, but the gasket is a throw away after that.

[Weight Weenie]

My cleaning procedure... I generally back flush every 2 days or so, only make about three cups a day. I give the screen a good scrub with some Pully on the brush as well. Portafilter and basket is placed in a jug of water with Pully, I then heat the water up with the steam wand, this takes care of the steam wand as well.

 

Good idea on the steam want there thanks.

Not sure how much the Pully helps on the screen's outside? Mine was dirty on the inside but clean outside. Craig suggested I get myself a precision screen, apparently no dirt can get underneath it?

[Weight Weenie]

Father Xmas brought me a early present!!!!

 

http://images.productwiki.com/upload/images/breville_the_barista_express_bes860xl.jpg

 

Lekker! They still on special?

[Weight Weenie]

WW - try sticking the filter basket and dispersion filter in the dishwash - dont do that with anything anodised, dishwashing soap is pretty agressive on aluminium.

 

Oh - and a tip when cleaning - unplug the machine...

 

I usually backflush every day with water, and with detergent a couple of times a week, and clean the portafilter daily - pink and white scrubby - that black stuff sticks like anything if you leave it, and REALLY tastes bad - even though you think its not going to come off, new coffee oils definately dissolve some and it affects taste rather badly.

 

I toss the portafilter basket in the dishwasher after morning coffee, and its usually washed by evening - in any case I have enough for a few days thanks to trying a few types of baskets.I dont put the portafilter in the dishwasher, just the basket.

 

I find a damp microfibre cloth best for cleaning watermarks off stainless - quick polish and its good to go - very occaisonally some stainless steel cleaner on a cloth.

 

Thanks for the tips!

 

Only have a manual dishwasher here and I wouldn't trust her with coffee gear so I'll have to clean em

 

Did unplug, just plugged in again for it to heat up when flushed.

 

Scrubby is a good idea thanks.

 

Will grab a pick for the gasket - will get a new gasket in the new year as it is brittle. Hardware shops should stock the picks?

 

Steam wand is round - will the spanner grip?

[V12man]

I think the pick set came from Midas or Adendorf or Mica ot some such - set of 4 - straight, hooj, bent and 1 other...

 

Whatever you do, dont use a green scrubby - they scratch polished surfaces.

 

You might want to look at a parts manual ofor that steam tip - might just pop on with an o ring, and if its round, the a strap bottle opener might work - or pliers wrapped in cloth.

[jugheaddave]

 

 

Lekker! They still on special?

The special ended.

[SimpleDom]

Father Xmas brought me a early present!!!!

 

http://images.productwiki.com/upload/images/breville_the_barista_express_bes860xl.jpg

 

Nice machine that. Just make sure you adjust the grind finer only while it is grinding..... Otherwise you end up damaging the cogs that drive the Grinder...